Treasurer Jim Chalmers has vowed there will be more savings in the mid-year Budget update but downplayed the prospect of more cost-of-living relief for Australians. Source: ABC News.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had indicated last week help was on the way for households, but Mr Chalmers said the government was looking to run a “tight ship” because of sustained pressure on the budget.
On Sunday, Mr Chalmers told ABC’s Insiders that a savings package would feature in the budget update, which is due in mid-December.
“One of the primary influencers on the mid-year update will be the need to find more savings,” he said.
“There is very, very substantial and intensifying pressure, not just on our budget but on budgets around the world.”
The Treasurer said the package would be influenced by the inflation challenge and the “helpful and responsible role” the government “intend to play” to see that figure come down over time.
“So we can get real wages growing again and so some of this pressure can come off people,” he said.
Last week, the Reserve Bank of Australia raised interest rates to a 15-year high.
Reserve Bank governor Michele Bullock said she would not “play the blame game”, but warned inflation “isn’t all about the Middle East conflict”.
On Sunday, Mr Chalmers said “no serious observer” would disagree the war in the Middle East was putting “very substantial” pressure on the Australian economy.
He said additional government spending had been concentrated in areas such as bulk billing, to ease pressure on family budgets.
The Coalition had argued the government was spending too much and had contributed to inflation.
Mr Chalmers said the government was not actively considering another discount of the fuel excise discount.
He also warned the cost of servicing government debt would rise by billions of dollars as borrowing costs around the world increased.
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Jim Chalmers flags savings package and downplays chance of cost-of-living relief (By Holly Tregenza, ABC News)
